Interior Secretary Jewell hosts panel discussion as part of LGBT Heritage Theme study
Leading scholars will explore ways to commemorate, interpret LGBT history in America
Washington, D.C. -- Today, Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell and National Park Service Director Jonathan B. Jarvis will host a panel discussion including leading historians and scholars to discuss ways to celebrate and interpret lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender history in the context of broader American history.
Prior to the panel discussion, U.S. House of Representatives Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi and U.S. Ambassador to Australia John Berry will deliver kick-off remarks.
The discussion is the first step in the LGBT Heritage Theme Study that Secretary Jewell announced on May 30th at the Stonewall Inn in New York City to identify places and events associated with the story of LGBT Americans for inclusion in the parks and programs of the National Park Service. The theme study is part of a broader initiative under the Obama Administration to ensure that the National Park Service reflects and tells a more complete story of the people and events responsible for building this nation.
The goals of the heritage initiative include:
- engaging scholars, preservationists and community members to identify, research, and tell the stories of LGBT associated properties
- encouraging national parks, national heritage areas, and other affiliated areas to interpret LGBT stories associated with them
- identifying, documenting, and nominating LGBT-associated sites as national historic landmarks
- increasing the number of listings of LGBT-associated properties in the National Register of Historic Places.
Participants in the event include Sally Jewell, U.S. Secretary of the Interior; Nancy Pelosi, U.S. House of Representatives Democratic Leader; John Berry, U.S. Ambassador to Australia; Jonathan B. Jarvis, National Park Service Director; and LGBT scholars
Department of Interior Media advisory
The Gayly – June 10, 2014 @ 1:35pm